Inland Empire

Synopsis

A blonde actress is preparing for her biggest role yet, but when she finds herself falling for her co-star, she realizes that her life is beginning to mimic the fictional film that they're shooting. Adding to her confusion is the revelation that the current film is a remake of a doomed Polish production, 47, which was never finished due to an unspeakable tragedy.

A blonde actress is preparing for her biggest role yet, but when she finds herself falling for her co-star, she realizes that her life is beginning to mimic the fictional film that they're shooting. Adding to her confusion is the revelation that the current film is a remake of a doomed Polish production, 47, which was never finished due to an unspeakable tragedy.

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by manythings711 8 / 10

I would like a red plumb floating in perfume served in a gentleman's hat.

Much can be said about David Lynch but I think the mistake most people
make is to think that he is trying to create a coherent and straight
forward narrative structure. He is working on a subconscious level in
his mind. The idea comes before the reason behind the idea. In many
ways this is how art should be created because any other way will feel
forced and pretentious.

David Lynch is not just trying to f*k with you. Its not meaningless and
its not pretentious. If you've ever seen his interviews he is one of
the most humble and soft spoken directors I've ever seen. Justin
Theroux did a Q & A after my screening of Inland Empire and he
described working with lynch as light hearted and fun. The complete
opposite of what its like to watch some of his films which are often
dark, terrifying, and disturbing.

Inland Empire is a sister film to Mulholland Dr. As my wife put it,
"Watching Mulholland Dr. helped me to understand Inland Empire." They
are two sides of the same coin. Lynch still seems to want to take a
stab at the evils of Hollywood. His concern for the well being of
actors is strong but this time instead of a new comer (Naomi Watts) he
deals with one older actresses come back role and like Mulholland Dr.
their are the evil producers behind the scenes and even the added
possibility of a cursed set.

I am a huge Lynch fan. I don't find his films hard to understand. I am
not a very intellectual person but Lynch's themes are so simple. The
visuals are to be enjoyed on their own terms especially when they seem
not to fit with the rest of the film. A lot of lynch's trademarks
return, the dual personalities, time folding in on itself, gratuitous
nudity, and another tragic murder mystery.

While this film does feel like a retread of Mulholland Dr. it also
stands on its own especially since it contains a much more upbeat
ending and perhaps four layers of storytelling,good luck figuring out
which is which. He also continues to experiment with sound and even
sings the vocals to a song in the film.

I got exactly what I wanted from Inland Empire. The downside to this is
that Lynch is sort of repeating himself and I hope that doesn't mean
he's out of ideas or perhaps Mulholland Dr. did not yet exercise his
disdain for the studio system. The film is part murder mystery and part
lucid dream. It has dream logic and has a lot of fun with some of its
bizarre dialog and incredible visuals. This film also has much in
common with Eraserhead in that he's completely free to explore his
ideas. No one is telling him to shorten the film, cut out scenes, or
that it doesn't make sense. Its uncompromising and truly art without
boundaries.

My only other criticism is that the digital video is just ugly at
times. When the shot is static the amount of detail in the picture can
be incredible but when its hand held and moving around its grainy and
looks pretty terrible. I miss the polished look of his older films but
I guess that is going to be another thing that sets this movie apart
from the others. I highly recommend this film to the Lynch enthusiast
and to no one else. If you aren't in on the joke then I cannot imagine
you leaving the theater happy after three hours of pure, free from
concentrate, unpasteurized lynch. I went to see this with my wife and
my best friend needless to say only I loved it. Take that as you will.

4/5

Reviewed by illuminousgurkin 8 / 10

Mulholland Drive on Acid

I saw INLAND EMPIRE at the Venice Film Festival world premiere last month. I want to keep this review short due to the fact that writing in great detail about this film is useless. INLAND EMPIRE is an experience. An experience not to be written about but to be FELT. It is David Lynch's definitive work. It's everything he has ever wanted to put into a film and it's completely free from anyone else's taming influence. The film is suffocating, dark and endless yet paradoxically contains some of the director's funniest and lightest scenes. I was frightened, uneasy, overwhelmed and moved. My emotions were thrown into disarray several times during which I lost all sense of appropriate reaction. Do not expect the mystery of this film to be solved, but expect it to be finished. Do not expect your head to understand the resolution but expect that your heart and intuition will.

If you cannot decide whether to see this film or not, I implore you to get up and go. Whether or not you enjoy it, you will never see a film like this again. I also implore you to see it IN THE CINEMA. Do not wait to see it on DVD because the experience won't be half as extraordinary.